The present invention concerns a washing machine, which comprises a water container enclosed in a housing for containing water, a washing basket mounted inside the water container to rotate about a vertical axis, an agitator for rotating about the vertical axis to radially expel the water, a guide channel arranged on the inside of the side wall of the washing basket for upwardly conducting the radially propelled water and discharging the water back in to the washing basket.
Referring to FIG. 3 for illustrating a conventional automatic washing machine, a water container 2 is mounted in a housing 1. A washing basket 3 is mounted inside the water container 2, and has an agitator 4. Mounted on the bottom of the water container 2 is a drive mechanism 5, which includes a drive motor 5a, and a power transfer part 5b for transferring the power of the drive motor 5a to rotate the washing basket 3 and the agitator 4.
The washing basket 3 has a water guide channel 3a provided in a part of the side wall. The water guide channel 3a has a water inlet 3b formed at the lower end to take in the water in the washing basket and a water outlet 3c formed at the upper end to discharge the water back to the inside of the washing basket, so that the water is circulated through the water guide channel 3a. A filter 3d is attached to the water outlet 3c to filter the water guided through the water guide channel.
When washing clothes, the drive motor 5a oscillates the agitator 4. Then, the water in the washing basket is radially expelled to partly flow into the water inlet 3b of the water guide channel 3a. As a result, a part of the water is circulated from the inside of the washing basket through the water guide channel 3a, and back to the inside of the washing basket. This operation is repeated for a programmed time. The foreign matters such as hairy materials and scraps contained in the water discharged through the water outlet 3c are removed by the filter 3d.
Although such conventional washing machine is considerably effective in a washing operation, it suffers a drawback in that the water flowing into the water guide channel cannot be discharged through the water outlet during either a low or medium water level washing mode, thereby preventing the benefits of the water guide channel from being realized.